Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke put forward a bill that will prohibit the discharge of scrubber water from ships in Danish territorial waters, which extend to 22 km from the Danish coasts.
The ban comes into force on 1 July 2025 for ships with scrubbers in open operation. For ships with scrubbers in closed operation, the ban enters into force on 1 July 2029.
The bill follows up on the political agreement on the ban on the discharge of scrubber water, which was concluded on 11 April 2024.
Furthermore, the bill means that in the future ships will have to switch to using either fuel with a low sulfur content or closed scrubbers with zero emissions. This means that the residual product from the closed scrubber must be delivered to the ports’ reception facilities.
The sea area out to approx. 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles) corresponds to the sea area that can be regulated nationally. The sea area outside the 22 kilometers is regulated according to international rules.
Therefore, Denmark is simultaneously working for a similar ban in the Baltic Sea and North Sea through the regional maritime conventions HELCOM and OSPAR with a view to regulation under the auspices of the UN Maritime Organization (IMO).
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